Syracuse comes in with a 26-3 record after losing three of its last four games. Georgia Tech (13-16 overall, 4-12 ACC) has lost four straight games and six of its last seven.
That's the mental/emotion side of the coin. Syracuse and Georgia Tech have plenty of physical hurts, too.

Syracuse forward Jerami Grant has not played in the second half of the Orange's last two games due to a sore lower back. Grant started against both Maryland and Virginia, but he was ineffective in both games.

Grant's injury compounds the loss of starting center Dajuan Coleman, who is out for the season with a knee injury. So an already-thin Syracuse rotation has been even thinner.

Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory has had more players in the trainer's room than he's had on the bench at times this season. Seven different Georgia Tech players have missed games due to injury. The Yellow Jackets have had just seven scholarship players available for several of their games this year.

Which team can suit up enough healthy bodies and snap out of its recent losing skid? We'll find out tonight.

Here are five things to watch as Syracuse hosts Georgia Tech:

Ennis and Fair

Old-timers may remember the Milwaukee Braves' pitching rotation that consisted of greats Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain and nobody else. It spawned the expression "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.''

As Syracuse's main offensive threat, it's been difficult for C.J. Fair did get an open shot lately. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

The Syracuse basketball team's offense is down to a similar two-man rotation of C.J. Fair and Tyler Ennis.

"Ennis and Fair and that's all that's there.''

Well, it's just a working title.

Still, the reality is that Syracuse has no consistent offensive threats outside of Fair and Ennis, and that's become even more dramatic with Jerami Grant's recent back injury.

In Syracuse's last two games, Grant has been limited to just 13 first-half minutes at both Maryland and Virginia. He's scored a total of four points in those two games.

With Grant limited or completely shelved, Fair and Ennis have shouldered more than 50 percent of the scoring load for the Orange.

Syracuse has averaged 56.5 points in its games against Maryland and Virginia with Ennis and Fair combining for 31.5 points.

What's even worse is the overall ineffectiveness of Syracuse's other players. While Ennis and Fair have made 25 out of 59 field-goal attempts in the last two games for a .423 percentage, the rest of the SU players have gone 19-for-57 from the field. That's a .333 shooting percentage.

Syracuse needs a healthy Grant, but until he's 100 percent, Syracuse other players must step up on the offensive end.

Carter country

Georgia Tech's Robert Carter, Jr., is one of the best sophomores in the country. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 9.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game as a freshman.

This year, Carter is averaging 10.1 points and 8.4 rebounds, but he had to miss 10 games earlier this year due to a knee injury. The games Carter missed were all Atlantic Coast Conference games and his absence really hurt Georgia Tech. The proof is in the numbers.

The Yellow Jackets went 3-7 with Carter out of the lineup. Tech's scoring dropped from 68 points per game to just 64 points per game. The Yellow Jackets' opponents have scored 65.3 points with Carter in the Georgia Tech lineup and 69.5 points when he was out.

And Georgia Tech really missed Carter's rebounding. With Carter, Georgia Tech averages 38.2 rebounds per game, but without him the rebounding numbers fall to 32.1 per game.

Board certified

Rebounding is important, but going into Saturday's game at Virginia, Syracuse had managed to win seven of the eight games this year in which it was out-rebounded by its opponent.

Then, Virginia dominated the glass, tearing down 39 rebounds to just 29 for Syracuse in a 75-56 win over the Orange. The Cavaliers turned 13 offensive rebounds into 21 second-chance points.

So while, it's not necessary for Syracuse to win the battle of the boards, the Orange does need to keep the numbers close.

Georgia Tech, on the other hand, lives and dies with its ability to out-rebound an opponent. The Yellow Jackets are 13-8 when out-rebounding their opponent and 0-8 when they've been out-rebounded.

The Jackets out-rebounded their first 14 opponents this season until Carter got hurt and missed the next 10 games. With Carter back, Georgia Tech is a very good rebounding team.

Syracuse ranks second in the ACC in offensive rebounding percentage and needs those easy putbacks to make up for a struggling offense. However, Georgia Tech ranks third in the conference in defensive rebounding percentage.

Grant and Gbinije

While Jerami Grant has been slowed by his balky back, Syracuse sophomore Michael Gbinije has been getting more playing time.

Syracuse's Jerami Grant, who missed the second half with a sore back, stands outside the huddle in the Orange's game against Virginia.Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

In each of Syracuse's last two games, Gbinije has established a new season-high for minutes played.

Gbinije's recent surge in playing time actually started when he logged 20 minutes in the Orange's loss at Duke a little over a week ago. Gbinije played well in that game, scoring eight points and making a pair of 3-pointers.

Then, Gbinije played a season-high 27 minutes in SU's win at Maryland a week ago Monday. That was the first game that Grant's back impacted his playing time. Grant played only 13 minutes against the Terps.

On Saturday at Virginia, Grant was again limited to just 13 first-half minutes. Gbinije played a career-high 30 minutes against the Cavs.

But while he's played more in the last two games, Gbinije's effectiveness has dipped. Although, he's 6-foot-7, Gbinije weighs just 200 pounds. He's far more suited to playing guard than he is holding down one of the forward spots in SU's 2-3 zone defense.

In the games at Maryland and Virginia, Gbinije has averaged 4.5 points on 3-for-10 shooting, but he's grabbed just one rebound. Syracuse was out-rebounded in both games.

If Grant continues to miss time with his injured back, Syracuse might need to give more time to freshman Tyler Roberson, a natural forward, rather than switching Gbinije from the backcourt to the frontcourt.

The turnover numbers

Even when everything else seemed to be going wrong for Syracuse in its loss to Virginia on Saturday, the Orange did not turn the ball over.

Syracuse committed just five turnovers in the 75-56 loss to the Cavaliers. Virginia actually had more turnovers, although the Cavs only committed six turnovers themselves.

Still, Syracuse continues to lead the ACC with a turnover margin of +3.6 per game. Syracuse's average of 7.8 turnovers per game also leads the ACC.

At the opposite end of the spectrum sits Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets rank last in the ACC in turnover margin (-3.2 per game). Georgia Tech's 12.1 turnovers per game leaves the Yellow Jackets at No. 12 in the conference.

Syracuse needs to maintain an edge in turnovers tonight. The Orange doesn't need to waste offensive possessions and its struggling offense could use a few easy points off turnovers.